Healing the Wounds of Childhood, 3rd Edition: The Six Stages to Self-Actualization

Written by an experienced counselor of adults suffering from the PTSD typical of those raised in dysfunctional families, Healing the Wounds of Childhood describes the six-stage process of recovery for survivors from multiple kinds of childhood trauma. It serves as a practical guide for adult children from dysfunctional families who choose to confront and constructively deal with the pain of the past. Drawing from case studies, 12-Step Program and rehabilitation literature, as well as from his own personal experiences, author Dennis McGuire illustrates the possible pitfalls and routine disappointments, as well as the positive small victories and meaningful self-discoveries, that occur at each stage of recovery as part of a process that leads to full healing within.

Anyone who has experienced radical disruption and systematic neglect during childhood and early adolescence knows that one does not simply outgrow the traumas and loneliness of those fragile years. As adults, those people, as well as their friends, loved ones, and the therapists who work with them will find Dr. McGuire’s Healing the Wounds of Childhood enormously helpful. Its insightful explanations of the problems that recovering adults have are brilliantly illustrated by his stories of real people of all ages and walks of life. These are men and women who came to grips with memories of parental abuse, self-estrangement, and unrelieved loneliness and have, at long last, come to love themselves. The guidance that the author provides for these victims and those who care about them is grounded in the thorough research that underlies his work. In short, this book is required reading for anyone (and their mentors) whose childhood parenting was dysfunctional.